An Ethereal Harmony
by DigitalArtMonster
Summary: After months of kicking ghostly butt with team Phantom, Edward Lancer finally feels like he understands Daniel better. However, in Amity Park, nothing is ever as it seems. Little did he know, a great evil was planning for the perfect time to strike. Sequel to A Haunting Melody.
1. Chapter One: 0 to 60 in 35

A/N: The long awaited sequel is here! Thank you to everyone who loved "A Haunting Melody" it was really fun to write. However many of you were dying for a continuation and honestly I had thought of it and I was gonna do it anyway. This story will be more Lancer focused, his thoughts and experiences only. 

So without further rambling, on with the sequel. 

Chapter One: 0 to 60 in 3.5

Edward Lancer woke up to the incessant ringing of the doorbell, followed by frantic banging. Who could possibly be bothering him on a Saturday at 3:42 AM?! He angrily stomps his way downstairs, grabbing the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick on his way. He unlocks the door and swings it open, ready to lay into whoever was unlucky enough to interrupt his much needed rest. However at the sight of Sam and Tucker holding a barely conscious, bleeding Phantom he drops the bat and runs for the first floor bathroom. Tossing everything out of the cabinets, searching for the first aid kit.

He could hear the children coaxing Daniel to stay awake, however he could also hear the hysteria just below the surface. Finding the first aid kit and sprinting into the living room, what greeted him was not pretty. Daniel, nearly hyperventilating, lying on the floor in a pool of glowing green and red ectoplasm leaking from the slash across his side. It's so deep he can see the boy's ribs just barely poking out of the wound, as if sliced by a professional butcher. He is momentarily assaulted by a wave of nausea and dizziness.

Planting his feet firm on the ground, he slaps his cheeks. He cannot afford to pass out now. His heart jumps into his throat as the rings of light flicker at the boy's waist. This is not good, he's loosing energy fast. Lancer gets to work and tries to patch him up as best he can. He wills his hands to stop shaking and tries to calm the children down a bit. He attempts to reassure them, though it comes out more desperate than he intended. It takes him three tries to thread the needle. As he positions himself to start sewing he realizes they've run out of anesthesia. He asks for forgiveness as Daniel's screams echo off the living room walls.

He can't stop shaking, the guilt is too much to bare. His hands are too slippery to hold the needle, there's too much ectoplasm everywhere. He should have been there for him. Daniel's eyes start glassing over. He panics. Frantically trying to keep the bleeding boy conscious. He didn't notice until it was too late. Twin rings of light flash over the boy's body, Lancer had to shield his eyes it was too bright. Once his eyes adjusted all bodily strength leaves him at once. Sam and Tucker rush to Daniel's side, screaming for him to wake up. The children's cries were like knives to his heart. He didn't realize he was crying until his vision started blurring.

Suddenly the children turn to him. The sheer rage and hatred in their eyes felt like a bucket of ice water. He flinches. They shout obscenities at him, regretting ever trusting him. Accusing him of abandoning them. He wasn't there when they needed him. He's the adult, he should have been there. He failed them when they needed him most.

It's all his fault. It's all his fault. It's all his fault.

He's suffocating, he can't breath. This isn't right. This is not happening. He looks at his blood soaked hands. Daniel's blood. This is wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

It's all his fault. It's all his fault.

It's too loud. Everything's too loud. He can't hear his thoughts. The beating of his heart feels so wrong. Wrong. Wrong. It's all wrong. Everything is dark. It's all pitch black. Where are the children!? Air, he needs air. Suffocating. He's suffocating. The smell of blood is everywhere. He's almost choking on it.

It's all his fault.

"Why Mr. Lancer?"

Everything stops. Complete silence. He hesitantly turns to the voice and what he sees freezes him to the core. Daniel, rather Daniel's Ghost hovers just above his cold, lifeless body. Staring at him with sad glowing green eyes. Eyes that make him feel like the scum of the earth.

"Why did you let me die?"

He didn't! His mouth won't cooperate. No sound comes out. His chest feels like it's being crushed by an elephant. He didn't want this. He never wanted this to happen. The children are still crying over his body. They can't see him. They can't hear him.

"You promised you'd be there for me"

He meant it! He meant it with every fiber of his being. Why did it turn out like this? What could he have done differently? The boy's ghost suddenly disappears. He looks around frantically. Then in the blink of an eye Daniel is inches from his face.

"You lied to me"

Lancer stumbles back, falling on his rear, scared out of his mind. What is happening!? Daniel hovers closer as he scoots back farther. That's not true! He didn't lie!

"YOU LIED!"

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

"MURDERER!"

He turns to the new voice. Jazmine? No, he would never! Sam and Tucker join in. Followed by the Fenton parents, chanting, yelling, crying.

"Now you pay with your life"

Daniel lunges forward and rams his arm straight through Lancer's chest, squeezing his heart till it pops.

Lancer jolts awake with a scream. Sitting up panting, he shakily wipes the sweat and stray tears off his face. His whole body is shaking, he places a hand over his heart. After feeling it beat for a while he slumps back into the mattress with a sigh. It was just a dream. A nightmare. He turns to look at the clock, it reads 3:42 AM. He sighs and rubs his face with both hands. The faint smell blood lingering in his nose. He's never had a dream like this before. Then again, he's never had a half ghost student before.

He sighs deeply, he can't go back to sleep after that. Every time he blinks he sees Daniel's ghost staring at him unblinkingly. Those glowing eyes piercing his very soul. He shivers. Getting out of bed he drags his feet over to the kitchen for some coffee. As he pours the water in the pot his hands are still shaking. He feels something cold brush against the back of his legs. With a scream worthy of a horror movie damsel, he jumps ten feet into the air. Clinging to the counter with legs in the air he whips his head around, only to find Cujo staring at him worriedly. The pup whimpers.

He lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding, returning his feet to the chilled linoleum. He can't take this anymore, he sits on the floor. Cujo takes this opportunity to snuggle into his arms, licking his fingers in reassurance. The cold fur sends shivers up his spine, but they are strangely comforting. He pets the little ghost pup, if only to steady his hands. He's thankful Daniel asked him to keep the pup out of trouble, misery needs company after all.

He sighs again, he can't stop thinking about that nightmare. It felt so real, too real. Almost like a warning. A premonition. He shakes his head vigorously, there's no way he would allow something like that to happen. He vowed to help and protect his students no matter what and that's what he will do. Even if it costs him his life. After drinking the entire pot of coffee and feeling the buzz of the caffeine kicking in, he puts on a track suit, leashes the dog and heads out the door. Pausing at the threshold, he grabs a wrist ray just in case. Cujo barks happily at going out, he sighs. Hopefully the brisk morning air will help clear his mind on this earlier than usual jog.

Little did he know at the time, that nightmare was only the beginning.

Dun dun dunnnnn! There is chapter one! This sequel is going to be much more angsty than the previous one. Since it's going to be through the eyes of Lancer. And as an adult, he sees danger much more easily than the children. Therefore there will be a lot of internal suffering lol. 

Also I have no internet cuz some dumbass in a big rig 18 wheeler truck came barreling down my tiny one way street and took out my telephone cables. So I have no phone, internet, or wi-fi. I'm posting this with borrowed phone data cuz I'm even running out of that too. [ugly crying]

Also also, I'm still working on Dia Del Phantasma, don't worry. I know I said I like to finish a story first before starting on a new one but this sequel was nagging at me to start it so here we are. I don't have an upload schedule as you guys can probably tell, but I don't abandon my stories so don't worry about that. 

Anyway thanks for reading and please review!


	2. Young Atlas

CHAPTER TWO: Young Atlas

Returning from his morning jog Edward Lancer feels only slightly better. The ominous dream lingering in the back of his mind. He decides that a boiling shower will help ease the tension as he mentally prepares himself for the long day of teaching rowdy teenagers. Filling Cujo's food bowl, he makes his way upstairs to get ready for the day.

After drowning his thoughts in scalding water, he gets dressed, downs another cup of coffee -just in case- and gets into his car. He takes a deep breath, centering himself, and drives off. The trip was uneventful, thankfully, allowing him to calm down. Upon entering the building however, he is met with the hustle and bustle of Casper High. Mourning the loss of his peace and tranquillity, he walks towards his office, gathering some last minute materials and heads to his first period history lesson.

He walks in and the class quiets down to a dull murmur. Dropping his materials on the desk he begins role call, being painfully aware of the single empty seat towards the back of the classroom. His mind drifts to the endless possibilities of what could be happening. He tries to calm his racing heart, reasoning that he must keep the class calm. As he is about to call the next student however, the door slams open, grabbing everyone's attention.

"S-sorry *pant* I'm l-late! I...*wheeze* o-overslept."

"Mr. Fenton, cutting it really close this time aren't we?"

The boy gives him a look that says more than just sorry and slinks over to his seat. The students murmuring distasteful things about he boy. Lancer did not however, miss the slight limp or the subtle way he cradled his left arm. His heart beat skyrockets as he notices the trail of little red and green dots decorating the floor, following the boy to his seat. He thanks the lord for his poker face.

"See me after class Mr. Fenton"

He can hear the rest of the class snickering as he wrights on the board. If only they knew.

Class ends, thankfully with no ghostly incident. The students all exit the classroom, the trio exchanging final words. As soon as the last student leaves he closes the door and draws the blinds. Turning to Daniel with what he hopes is a stern gaze, he takes out an industrial sized first aid kit from the bottom drawer of his desk. Daniel's eyes widen, it appears he thought he wasn't that obvious.

"Mr. Lancer It's not-"

"Let me see it"

He sees the hesitation, various emotions crossing the young hero's eyes. However Lancer made a vow that he would never allow Daniel to suffer as long as he was able to help. He asks again, with more force in his tone. The boy relents and slowly lifts his shirt, wincing slightly at lifting his left shoulder.

A horrified gasp escapes him unbidden as he clasps a hand over his mouth. Daniel's entire left side is covered in dried blood and what looks like charred flesh. Lancer swallows the bile rising in his throat, quickly composing himself. He asks about any other injuries, Daniel showing him his right leg as well. It had a few deep gashes but nothing some quick stitching couldn't fix. Thankfully it didn't look infected.

As he got to work, the room was blanketed in a heavy silence, peppered only with small whimpers here and there. He decided to stitch the boy's leg first, because it would take the most precision. He is both impressed and terrified that, with no anesthetics, Daniel's only reaction is slight wincing and the occasional whimper. Sometimes he forgets that the boy has been doing this longer than he cares to acknowledge.

As he finishes the stitching and bandages up the wound, Daniel speaks up.

"It wasn't that bad..."

He looks up, into those blue eyes filled with wisdom beyond his years. The eyes of someone who's faced death and laughed in its face. He shivers, the memory of his nightmare flashing briefly. He swallows hard.

"I was careless and let my guard down. It was a cheep shot but I got him back ten fold. Hell I've gotten way worse, this is considered getting off easy."

The boy chuckles awkwardly, attempting to diffuse the tension in the atmosphere. Needless to say he did not succeed. Lancer moves on to his burned side and recoils slightly. The flesh is already mending itself back together! He remembered Daniel saying his healing rate is faster than a normal human's but he's never seen it up close before. It's slightly disturbing.

He silently squeezes burn cream into his palm and applies a generous amount to the area, the cooling effect making the boy squeak in surprise. As he spreads the cream he starts thinking about all the times this child has come to school in pain, broken in both body and spirit. It's obvious his parents don't know, given how they hunt him like an animal. This boy, stuck in a world between worlds, belonging to both but wanted in neither. This child who isn't even safe within his own home, who's parents are unaware of the harm they're doing to him. This child still has the strength to smile in the face of adversity. He is instantly reminded of Atlas, of how the Greek man shoulders the weight of the heavens, all alone for eternity-

"...Mr. Lancer...?"

He snaps his eyes back up, Daniel looking at him worriedly. He almost wants to cry. Even after everything he suffers, this boy still has the strength to worry about others. Then again, that's how he's always been since the first day they met each other. Daniel has always valued other's well being above his own. But he's terrified for his student. Terrified that his selflessness will be his downfall. Terrified that he will get taken advantage of, used, then left for dead. Terrified that he won't be able to save him from himself.

"Mr. Lancer? You're spacing out"

"I'm fine Daniel, just thinking about the next class lesson. Promise me you'll be more careful?"

The look in Daniel's eyes betrays his words. He says he will, but his eyes make no promises. Frankly, he can't expect anything more. Daniel is who he is, and even if he wanted to, he cannot change that fact. He can only do his best to keep the boy out of trouble as much as he is able.

The bell rings just as Lancer replaces the med kit back into the drawer. Before he even has a chance to turn around Daniel is already gone. He sighs, angry at his own helplessness. Angry that he can't do more for the boy. However, the most overwhelming feeling is dread. He fears for Daniel so much it causes him physical pain, he's noticed that the bit of hair he does have left is falling out quickly. He sighs angrily, shuffling his teaching materials for the next class, who's started trickling in. One paper in particular catches his eye.

Scrawled in hasty chicken scratch is a single word that makes all the emotional turmoil worth it. He smiles at the hasty thanks left by the most enigmatic boy he's ever met. As long as he understands he's not alone in this he is content. The final bell snaps him out of his reverie.

"All right class, put your books away, we're having a pop quiz"

Lancer is my fave character to write. Because it's so obvious he cares about Danny and wants him to succeed. The potential relationship between the two would have been amazing.

My favorite part of whiting Lancer tho is because he's an outside observer who's only recently been let in. So the amount that he knows is limited to what he observes. Many other fics are written with an omniscient reader in mind (not to say those are bad or anything, it's a kind of writing style) but I find the ones where the reader's knowledge is limited to that of the character's observations are much more interesting. And the "plot twist" or surprises have a better payoff when you don't hold all the cards. Ya feel me?

Anyway I'm still working on Dia Del Phantasma, I just needed a little break from it. For now I'll focus on this one and then dive back in. 

Thanks for reading and please review!


End file.
